By: Clementine Wilson, Adolescent Field Manager & Jody St. Joseph, Adolescent Program Director This three part series focuses on the Master Guide position and the significance of this special role at Pacific Quest. The first entry looked at the role itself and highlighted Nikki Robinson. Part II introduced Master Guide Alyson Alde. In this third and …
By: Andrea Sussel, MSS, LCSW Primary Therapist Nine members of the Pacific Quest team completed a 10-month long experiential art and sandplay therapy training lead by PQ Clinical Director, Dr. Lorraine Freedle. Sandplay is a non-verbal, depth-oriented, multi-sensory therapy wherein students use symbols and sand to express and work through their inner experiences. Sandplay rooms …
By: Sharon Findlay Admissions and Communications Manager Pacific Quest is pleased to announce the formation of the Pacific Quest Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to supporting the Hawaii County community and its existing non-profit organizations. “After years of working in and contributing to the Hawai’i Island community, we are excited to formalize our efforts …
By: PQ Alumni Student Before Pacific Quest, I was alive, but I wasn’t really living. I was surviving, but I was far from thriving. My life had become completely consumed by depression and anxiety. It was back in 2014; I had dropped out of college, and not for the first time. I had been suffering …
By: Teresa Bertoncin, LPCC, LMFT, Primary Therapist Pacific Quest is excited to announce that a cohort of 13 of its clinical staff recently attended EMDR training with Dr. Roger Solomon, a Senior Faculty Member of the EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Institute, as they work to join PQ therapists already certified in the practice …
By: Yvette Slagle, Communications Manager Pacific Quest’s Horticultural Therapy Director Travis Slagle M.A. recently accepted the national award in Therapeutic Garden Design from the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA). The nomination process included an outpouring of inspiring testimonials from families, alumni, educational consultants, and mental health professionals from across the country. Travis comments, “The greatest …
Pacific Quest is pleased to announce a new member of the Clinical and Wellness teams: Dr. Robert Voloshin, Integrative Psychiatrist. Dr. Robert joins Dr. Shelly Ham and will be on-site full time. We are very excited to add another Integrative Psychiatrist to our team! Dr. Robert received his BS from UCSD in Biology where he graduated …
By: Yvette Slagle, Communications Manager Pacific Quest’s Clinical Director, Dr. Lorraine Freedle and Medical Director, Dr. Britta Zimmer recently co-presented at the 2016 Independent Educational Consultant Association conference in New Orleans. Their presentation “The Gut Brain Connection: Emerging Trends in Integrative Health” began with the simple question, “What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘gut …
By: Janna Pate, Academic Coordinator Makahiki is a holiday season that marks the end and new beginning of the yearly farming cycle in Hawaii. It is similar in timing and purpose to Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest, and other harvest celebrations. At Pacific Quest, we celebrate Makahiki throughout the month of November. Our celebrations culminate in a day …
By: Alumni Parent As a little girl, our daughter was always the life of the party. She was a bright and sunny kid who loved to have fun. She loved to sing and would often belt out the words to Nat King Cole’s “Love” while dancing around the room. She had a whacky sense of …